FN Dish

A Baby Blue Latte for the Bold

A few weeks ago, we told you about a blue wine (a deep royal blue, if we’re getting specific about our hues) being launched by a group of Spanish entrepreneurs. Now comes news that the cerulean-sipping trend is extending to the world of hot beverages as well.

Adventurous consumers can now enjoy a live-blue-algae latte the color of sea foam – or perhaps of a sunny summer sky. Melbourne’s Matcha Mylkbar, which bills itself as “Australia’s first specialty matcha cafe,” has just introduced an appropriately named “Smurf Latte.” The pastel beverage, which is made with “nutrient dense” algae powder, lemon, ginger agave and coconut milk and sprinkled with … uh … something pink, is an intriguing baby-blanket blue.

“Don’t worry it tastes as good as it looks — nothing like sea water or algae actually,” the vegan cafe reassures in a Facebook post.

“It’s got quite a unique taste, ginger and lemon. It’s not the taste you expect when you see a blue drink,” Matcha Mylkbar co-owner Nic Davidson recently told Broadsheet Melbourne. “You expect this really sweet, bubblegum taste, like drinks you had when you were a kid.”

With an $8 price tag (the algae used in it is expensive, apparently), the drink — which contains no coffee or caffeine — is definitely not kid stuff. Still, even though the flavor has been described as “reminiscent of sour milk, with a tart aftertaste,” and it’s said to smell strongly of seaweed, the Smurf Latte been selling like hotcakes.

Next Up

Aarti Sequeira won Food Network Star season 6 and expanded her popular blog into a cooking show, Aarti Party. As a Star veteran watching from her couch at home, Aarti shares her insider’s take on what went down each week.